New Zealand's Orr says growth to slow, but expects low GDP growth

Reserve Bank of New Zealand RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr is pictured at the bank in Wellington during an interview.

WELLINGTON Reuters Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Adrian Orr said on Wednesday that while growth would slow he did not expect a recession, adding that the central bank believed it was on top of inflation, which has hit three-decade highs.

According to Orr, during the projection period, while we do not forecast a recession, we do forecast low GDP growth, below the potential growth rate, as per the media briefing after the RBNZ hiked interest rates by 50 basis points.

In its policy review, the cash rate went up by 275 basis points to 3% in less than a year, and the RBNZ said it would continue its aggressive tightening.

Orr said that we are in a very strong position to be on top of inflation. We have inflation down in the target range over the 18 month period and it's all slowing down, as you can see from our projections.